Hey fellas, I'm posting here for my dad because he has the opportunity to buy a 1985 CJ-7 and we need some opinions.

1985 CJ-7, 258 6 cyl, 30,000 miles on crate engine, holley carb, 5 speed with 20,000 miles on rebuild. Hard top and bikini top. New windshield channel and seal. Several hundred dollars of new window and door seals still in box. New door locks. Passenger door lock needs work. No carpet. Has back seat and tire rack. 4 wheel drive works good but has a noise. I think it is worn springs. I did find a broken transmission mount and repaired that which helped. I replaced the sending unit in the tank only to find out the fuel gauge is not hooked up. New battery. Jeep is probable worth 8 to 10 K. I gave 5K and will take that. I believe it has minimal rust, the obvious is under the driver door as seen in the pictures. It needs cleaned up and repainted but can be a daily driver. Has receiver hitches front and rear. Winch mount on front with custom bumpers. Has a chrome package on it.*

Sounds like it needs a bit of work, but this would be a nice father-son project. Is 5k a fair price for it? And when we view it what all should we look out for? CJs are foreign to me as I work on and drive a TJ so any help is appreciated.

Hey fellas, I'm posting here for my dad because he has the opportunity to buy a 1985 CJ-7 and we need some opinions.

1985 CJ-7, 258 6 cyl, 30,000 miles on crate engine, holley carb, 5 speed with 20,000 miles on rebuild. Hard top and bikini top. New windshield channel and seal. Several hundred dollars of new window and door seals still in box. New door locks. Passenger door lock needs work. No carpet. Has back seat and tire rack. 4 wheel drive works good but has a noise. I think it is worn springs. I did find a broken transmission mount and repaired that which helped. I replaced the sending unit in the tank only to find out the fuel gauge is not hooked up. New battery. Jeep is probable worth 8 to 10 K. I gave 5K and will take that. I believe it has minimal rust, the obvious is under the driver door as seen in the pictures. It needs cleaned up and repainted but can be a daily driver. Has receiver hitches front and rear. Winch mount on front with custom bumpers. Has a chrome package on it.*

Sounds like it needs a bit of work, but this would be a nice father-son project. Is 5k a fair price for it? And when we view it what all should we look out for? CJs are foreign to me as I work on and drive a TJ so any help is appreciated.

Sounds like its worth the 5k, around me rusted out cj7s are going for 3-5 with alot of rust. Also if you can work on a TJ then a CJ is a breeze. So much simpler and easier imho. The only thing hard on them is the 4.2 carbs but everythings easier i think. I would much rather work on my YJ than my friends TJ and my dads TJ. Dont be scared when it comes to the work.

I wouldn't pay $5k for it. It needs some work, granted the work doesn't appear too bad but it usually turns out worse than originally expected. Plus you state it needs paint. Unless you do it on your own paint won't be cheap. If there is any diamond plate on the CJ there is probably rust under it, more times than not, diamond plate is put on as a cheap way to cover up rust.

Impossible to tell without pics. I agree that 5k sounds a little high considering it needs paint, has rust, etc. If it is really nice it may be worth the $. I have seen good deals on cj's that need nothing and are nice in the 5-6K range.

FYI, the rebuild on the trans is not a plus. The 5 speed put in those is the T5 and its a POS. they are very prone to breakage unless you drive like a granny, then chances are good it will still break. My brother in law broke 3 in 2 years. It was rebuilt each time so I would bet money that's why it's got a rebuilt trans. Keep in mind that it also likely has an AMC 20 rear end also and that can be problematic as well. Hard to tell if the price is good without seeing pics. Good luck.

FYI, the rebuild on the trans is not a plus. The 5 speed put in those is the T5 and its a POS. they are very prone to breakage unless you drive like a granny, then chances are good it will still break. My brother in law broke 3 in 2 years. It was rebuilt each time so I would bet money that's why it's got a rebuilt trans. Keep in mind that it also likely has an AMC 20 rear end also and that can be problematic as well. Hard to tell if the price is good without seeing pics. Good luck.